Definitive Map Officer

Cambridge County Council; Huntingdon; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Wellbeing package

Extra annual leave through salary-sacr

Flexible bank holidays

Pension contributions

Development opportunities

Paid volunteering hours

Peer support networks (IDEAL)

Employee Recognition Awards

Cambs Rewards discounts

Car Lease

Cycle to Work

Job summary

Cambridge County Council is seeking a motivated Definitive Map Officer to help manage Cambridgeshire's Public Rights of Way (PROW) by maintaining the Definitive Map, supporting legal orders, and contributing to digitisation projects. You will engage with landowners, parish councils, and internal teams while upholding statutory deadlines.

The role combines investigative work, historic research, mapping and project delivery, with on-the-job training and opportunities to develop professionally

Qualifications

• Experience with PROW, highway records or similar technical fields is essential.
• Experience using GIS or mapping software.
• Strong analytical skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to interpret maps, historic documents and legal evidence.
• Excellent communication with landowners, parish councils and professionals.

Responsibilities

• Maintain and update the Definitive Map, Statement and PROW records.
• Investigate and process Definitive Map Modification Order and Public Path Order applications.
• Support management of Commons and Town/Village Green Registers.
• Carry out historic research, site inspections and evidence assessment.
• Prepare clear technical reports and legal documentation.
• Respond to planning applications affecting PROW.
• Support digitisation and data management projects.
• Represent the Council at meetings or public inquiries.
• Provide professional PROW advice to colleagues and customers.

Skills

Investigative work

Problem solving

Analytical skills

Attention to detail

Map interpretation

Communication skills

Organised / proactive

GIS experience

Tools

GIS

Job description

We're looking for a motivated and detail focused Definitive Map Officer to join our Highway Records & Definitive Map Team. You'll play a vital role in protecting and managing Cambridgeshire's Public Rights of Way (PROW) network by ensuring our legal records - including the Definitive Map and Statement, Commons and Village Green registers - are accurate, up to date and legally robust.

This is a varied role combining legal investigation, historic research, mapping, stakeholder engagement and project delivery. You'll manage your own caseload, carry out site visits, prepare statutory reports and legal documentation, and support the delivery of improvements to the PROW network, including those linked to planning and Section 106 contributions.

It's an exciting time to join us as we modernise our systems, digitise our records and respond to major infrastructure and development proposals across the county.

Our benefits

We value our colleagues in Cambridgeshire County Council and have developed a number of benefits in addition to the basics like annual leave, sick pay, pension and mileage

• A comprehensive wellbeing package to cover all aspects of wellbeing, both in and out of work, which can also be accessed by your family
• Buy up to 4 weeks additional annual leave (pro-rata) through our salary sacrifice scheme
• Take your bank holidays flexibly to better suit your personal circumstances
• Make Additional Voluntary Contributions (Shared AVCs) to your pension with tax and National Insurance savings
• Access to development opportunities, apprenticeships and qualified coaches to support your personal and professional growth
• Paid volunteering hours each year so you can make a positive impact on our community during your normal working day
• Access to Peer Support Groups through our IDEAL staff equality, diversity and inclusion network
• Opportunities to nominate and receive Employee Recognition Awards
• An Our Cambs Rewards account, giving you access to in-store and online discounts as well as our Car Lease and Cycle to Work schemes

Take a look at our Employment Benefits Brochure attached to this advert to find out more.

What will you be doing?

• Maintaining and updating the Definitive Map, Statement and other PROW and highway records
• Investigating and processing Definitive Map Modification Order and Public Path Order applications
• Supporting the management of Commons and Town/Village Green Registers and processing applications to amend them
• Carrying out historic research, site inspections and evidence assessment
• Preparing clear, accurate technical reports and legal documentation
• Responding to planning applications that affect public rights of way
• Supporting digitisation and data management projects
• Working with parish councils, landowners, developers and internal teams
• Supporting delivery of PROW improvements linked to planning and S106
• Representing the Council at meetings and, where required, public inquiries
• Providing professional advice on PROW matters to colleagues and customers

About you

You'll be someone who enjoys investigative work, problem solving and working with legislation. You'll have strong analytical skills, excellent attention to detail and the ability to interpret maps, historic documents and legal evidence.

You'll also be confident communicating with a wide range of people - from landowners and parish councils to legal professionals and members of the public. You'll be organised, proactive and able to manage your workload to meet statutory deadlines.

Although we do give on-the-job training, experience working with PROW, highway records, countryside management, legal services or similar technical fields (eg, planning, surveying) is essential, as is experience using GIS or mapping software.

please contact Michelle Darrington, Highway Records and Definitive Map Lead, via [e-mail]

About us

The Place & Sustainability Directorate is responsible for shaping Cambridgeshire's infrastructure, environment and communities. Our Highway Records & Definitive Map Team ensures that the county's public access network is legally protected, accurately recorded and well managed.

We are modernising our services, digitising our records and strengthening our approach to major development and infrastructure projects. You'll be joining a supportive, collaborative team committed to delivering high quality services and continuous improvement.

Cambridgeshire is a great place to work and live with a diverse population, an urban centre in Cambridge, historic Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and St Ives as well as more rural landscapes.

Our four values are central to our culture, driving everything we do.

We are proud to serve the diverse communities of Cambridgeshire and want our workforce to be reflective of this diversity, which we firmly believe benefits our colleagues, the organisation and our communities.

We are committed to building a workplace that is compassionate and inclusive as well as diverse.

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, along with our employee network 'IDEAL' and self-organised peer support groups help us to foster an inclusive, supportive and safe working environment where people feel valued, respected, and empowered. We collect relevant diversity data for monitoring as part of the recruitment process to understand the diversity of our applicants and monitor any trends throughout the recruitment processes so that we can take meaningful action.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We fully support providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process, as well as when you join us, and we encourage candidates to contact the Hiring Manager, whose details can be found in the advert, to discuss any adjustment needs. Through a Guaranteed Interview Scheme, we will offer an interview to all applicants who disclose a disability and meet the essential criteria for a job vacancy. On your application form you can indicate you are disabled. Some examples of reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process could include additional time to complete an assessment or printing a document on pastel coloured paper with larger font size and line spacing. We would value talking about what might be possible to enable you to join us and thrive, so if there is something that would help you to do your best during your journey with us, please get in touch.

Visit our jobs and careers section to find out more about our wide range of learning and development opportunities; apprenticeships; our wellbeing package; staff benefits; our commitment to equality, diversity and Inclusion.

https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/council/jobs-and-careers